10 Popular Analytics Tools You Can Use

For years SAS stood on top of an economical empire in the world of analytics. However, as the world continued to spin and technology has moved forward, the empire of SAS has fallen. Don’t be mistaken, SAS is still a widely used analytic tool, but it’s no longer the only one that is important to know. Here are 10 popular analytics tools that are used in big businesses.

Open Source Analytics Tools

R – R is the reason for the SAS demise. It has surpassed SAS in usage and has become the most used tool in analytics. In the recent years it has become incredibly robust and versatile in its usage. R is also great because it integrates so well with Big Data platforms.

Python – This is a favorite among many programmers because it is very easy to use and learn. Python offers comprehensive coverage of mathematical and statistical functions. As more programmers move towards using analytics, the more likely we will see a rise in Python, given so many programers are already familiar with it’s functions.

Apache Spark – This tool was definitely built with analytics in mind. It’s designed to focus on unstructured data or large volumes of data. Apache Spark has become increasingly popular in the recent years, one reason being it’s easy integration with the Hadoop ecosystem.

Apache Storm – While Spark is great for static data, Storm is ideal for real-time data or stream processing. If you have a Big Data platform with streamed analytics then Apache Storm is the tool for you.

PIG and HIVE – Both PIG and HIVE are great integral tools for the Hadoop ecosystem. More specifically, they reduce the complexity of writing MapReduce queries. Most companies working with Big Data that also use the Hadoop platform, are more than likely using PIG and HIVE as analytic tools.

Commercial Analytics Tools

SAS – Despite it’s fall from power, SAS is still a widely used analytics tool. It continues to be robust and versatile and easy to learn. Plus to keep up with the competition, in the recent years there have been new modules added for use.

Tableau – This is an easy to use tool that is great at dissecting your data and creating top-of-the-line visualizations and dashboards. Tableau is more capable of displaying better visualizations than Excel and definitely can hold more data than Excel. It’s an excellent tool!

Excel – Now here’s a tool we all know and love. There isn’t a company in the world who isn’t using Excel to display analytics. You can know all the R and SAS you want but you’re still going to use Excel. Plus, this tool becomes vital when the analytics team interfaces with the business steam.

QlikView – In comparison to Tableau, QlikView is supposably faster than its competition. It also gives experienced users a little bit more flexibility with its interface.

Splunk – Splunk started as “Google for log files” meaning it’s primary use was to process machine log files data. Since then it has grown into something better. Splunk now is much easier to use with great visualizations and cleaner web interface.

What Popular Analytics Tools Do You Use?

Does your business utilize any of these popular analytics tools? If not, any of them are totally worth looking in to. Whether Open Source or Commercial tools works better for your company, there are many great options in both!